Fighting kills 6 Ukraine soldiers in fresh spike of violence

Clashes with Russian-backed rebels killed six Ukrainian soldiers Thursday, officials said, in the bloodiest surge in fighting along the volatile frontline in recent months.The violence flared several days after a top rebel leader announced a plan to form a new "state" that Kiev warned could put a long-stalled peace plan further in jeopardy.Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said rebel shelling killed six servicemen and wounded two more around the insurgents' de-facto capital Donetsk.